HEADINGSNEWSLETTER FROM CONTINENTAL MAPPING CONSULTANTS, INC. VOLUME I - 2016

HEADINGS

IN THIS ISSUE:

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF PRESERVING AMERICAN BEAUTY

SUPPORTING CLEAN ENERGY INITIATIVES

CONTINENTAL MAPPINGON THE ROAD

INSIDE THE COMPANY:NEWS AND NOTES

HEADINGS - SPRING

2016

Taking Autism to the Sky (TATTS) is a volunteer run, non-profit organization that uses drones to develop social and employment skills for people on the autism spectrum, while building quality, 3D products. The group, led by Conti-nental Mapping staff, has plans for another strong summer in 2016.

To learn how you can help a great cause, please visit taking-autism-to-the-sky.blogspot.com

In 2015, Continental Mapping received its 333 Exemption from the FAA and is authorized to fly up to 400 feet. Conti-nental Mapping has completed several UAS projects to date, and has been able to leverage the strengths of commercial UAS software tools and its talented photogrammetry and lidar processing staff to ensure successful projects for clients.

NEW LOOK, SAME GREAT SERVICEContinental Mapping has gone through an update to its brand. This update has brought with it a new logo, a new website, and all kinds of excitement. If you haven’t done so already, be sure to check out the new company site at www.continentalmapping.com.

This summer, Continental Mapping will hold three surveying and map-ping Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts with the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). These contracts include the Tulsa District, The Fort Worth District, and the St. Louis District (award immi-nent).

SUPPORTING US ARMY CORPS THROUGH THREE IDIQs

Having been a Tulsa District survey-ing and mapping provider since 2010, Continental Mapping has had the privilege of working on several unique and challenging projects. Notable among them:

FORT SILL BOUNDARY SURVEYIn total, the project amounted to nearly 100 linear miles of boundary

COVER PHOTO BY GARY MORRISON, GEOSPATIAL ANALYST

TAKING AUTISM TO THE SKY

survey. The comprehensive effort brought the Fort’s boundary up to date with over a century of activity and documentation.

ALTA SURVEYS AT TINKER AFBThe Tulsa District asked Continental Mapping to produce ALTA survey work in relation to land acquisition at Tinker AFB. In both cases, Continen-tal Mapping supplemented the traditional boots on the ground ALTA survey approach with aerial imagery, a time saving innovation suitable for the large site.

CUMBERLAND LEVEE MAPPING2015 was a banner year for rain and flooding through the Southwest Division of USACE, which wreaked havoc on critical infrastructure. A poignant example of what transpired came with the breach of the Cumber-land Levee in north central Oklaho-ma. Continental Mapping used aerial lidar and imagery to provide topo-graphic information and produce a base map.

A Continental Mapping survey crew works to establish the position of a public highway that cuts through a portion of Fort Sill

UAS NEWS: 333 EXEMPTION

CONTINENTAL MAPPING ENDORSES BUSINESSES MOVING WISCONSIN, HOSTS BUSINESS LEADERSBusinesses Moving Wisconsin is a coalition of business leaders and organizations committed to moving Wisconsin’s transportation infrastructure into the future. The priority projects in Wisconsin that are currently shovel ready, much less the possible new projects to come, have a considerable shortfall in funding to overcome. Delays are starting to add years to project cycles, and Businesses Moving Wisconsin wants to get people thinking and talking about that issue.

As part of supporting the Businesses Moving Wisconsin effort, Continental Mapping welcomed Wisconsin business leaders to a CEO networking event that featured a presentation by John Gard, the group’s organizer.

MCKINLEY MIDDLE SCHOOL - ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI

McKinley Middle School students, with the help of Continental Mapping St. Louis staff, competed in the National Geographic Geography Bee earlier this year. Around 50 students in grades 6-8 expressed interest in competing in the GeoBee, with entrants selected through a qualifying exam. The GeoBee was held in the school auditorium in front of the rest of the student body, with 11 students qualifying for the event

The GeoBee started out with several rounds, with students individually answering verbal questions. Each round had a different theme, such as “Weird but True” where the questions stated weird facts about countries and the students had to state which one it was. The students scores were tallied and the field was narrowed down to five students. However, there was a six-way tie forcing a bonus round to determine who would make it to the final round. Natalie Hartman and Benjamin Breuer were the final two participants standing. The pair were asked five individual ques-tions and scored at the end of the five rounds. Eventu-ally, Natalie, the returning School Geography Bee champion, went on to repeat as Geography Bee champion.

CONTINENTAL MAPPING SUPPORTS MCKINLEY MS

Continental Mapping Senior Photogrammetric Mapping Specialist Jason Froemming shows a business leader how to map with stereo imagery

Top: A second competition emerged: who can blow up a beach ball globe the fastest? Left: A young man spins his beach ball globe on the tip of his finger. Right: Champi-on Natalie at the mic.

#MappingMatters: follow us on Twitter and watch for this hashtag to see content related to all things mapping.

@continentalmapp

“The Service thus established shall promote and regulate the use of the Federal areas known as national parks, monuments, and reservations… by such means and measures as conform to the fundamental purposes of the said parks, monuments, and reservations, which purpose is to conserve the scenery and the natural and histor-ic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations."

Photo:Arches National ParkGary Morrison

The National Park Service (NPS) was estab-lished by congress in August of 1916, making 2016 the 100th year of the agency. 100 years is a big deal, and a celebration for NPS is only fitting. As big fans of NPS, Continental Mapping is marking the occasion with posters made from staff pictures and stories gathered from staff, including those of a former park ranger who is now Continental Mapping’s facilities security officer (FSO). Please follow Continental Mapping on Facebook and Twitter to take part in a great yearlong celebration.

CONTINENTAL MAPPING’S WORK IN SUPPORT OF THE NPS

The 100th anniversary of the NPS isn’t breaking news; most people have already been exposed to various celebrations on social media channels and news outlets, but for Continental Mapping, it’s personal. The NPS is a client, and the work they’ve asked Continental Mapping to perform has helped preserve cultural heritage from centu-ries before 1776.

EFFIGY MOUNDS NATIONAL MONUMENT

HARPERS FERRY, IOWA - Continental Mapping worked on a pilot aerial lidar project with the National Park Service’s Midwest Archaeological

Center (MWAC). The focus area was the heavily wooded Sny Magill Effigy Mounds Group near the southern edge of the Effigy Mounds National Monument on the Mississippi River in Iowa. A goal of the project was to assess the utility of lidar technology for mapping archaeologically sensitive sites.

Continental Mapping provided MWAC with a high density aerial lidar collect, supplemental ground control, and stereo aerial imagery for data verifi-cation. Data visualization techniques were used to highlight different characteristics of the mound group. These visualizations, combined with ancillary GIS data sources, provided MWAC with information that helped identify previously undoc-umented mounds and gave insight into mound construction.

Photo:Gary Morrison

Bare earth model showing several mounds

Lincoln HomeNational Historic Site

CONTINENTAL MAPPING’S PARK RANGERJohn Heger, facility security officer (FSO) at Continental Mapping, spent the better part of two decades working as a park ranger for the National Park Service before becoming a Defense Security Service agent. As part of Continental Mapping’s #NPS100 celebration, we’ll relive John’s favorite stories from the field.

Top left: Part of John’s duties as a Park Ranger was to perform basic boundary surveys. Here he is working on a boundary at the Freder-icksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park in Virginia. Bottom left: John has a great collection of memorabilia from his time with the NPS on display in his office. Right: John stands proudly next to his patrol car in the early 1980s.

KNIFE RIVER INDIAN VILLAGES NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE

STANTON, NORTH DAKOTA - Coming off a successful project at Effigy Mounds,

Continental Mapping was contracted by NPS to provide high accuracy lidar mapping for the Knife River Indian

Villages National Historic Site near Stanton, North Dakota. This site

preserves indian villages, including where the famed Sacajawea lived with her husband Char-bonneau (Awatixa Village). In 1804, the Corps of Discovery (Lewis and Clark expedition) made it to Knife River and eventually hired Charbonneau as an interpreter, forever changing American history and making the Knife River Indian Villages a place of great significance.

The project area contains earth lodge depres-sions, constructed mounds, trails, and other archaeological features. Lidar analysts used great care and tested methodologies to preserve these important features during lidar processing. The lidar data was collected by a low flying heli-copter and a high accuracy elevation model of the 8.4 square mile site was generated, providing critical information for identifying archaeological resources, riverbank erosion, vegetation commu-nities, and park infrastructure.

HOPEWELL CULTURE NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK

CHILLICOTHE, OHIO - NPS again contracted Continental Mapping for aerial lidar mapping, this time at the Hopewell Culture National Historical Park in Chillicothe, Ohio. NPS needed the data to

identify cultural resources and aid in managing resource integrity due to erosion that is common-place with riverside lands. Features mapped included conical mounds, trails, low earthen enclosures, and other features determined to have archaeological significance. The Continen-tal Mapping team provided lidar processing and classification of the point cloud. STAFF POSTERS

A big part of the NPS celebration at Continental Mapping is company-wide involvement. The National Parks are each a destination, and each an opportunity to take wonderful photos. To commemorate the 100th anniversary, Continental Mapping has been producing posters like these:

For more on the NPS celebration, or to request a free poster, check out the Continental Mapping website.

CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF PRESERVING AMERICAN BEAUTY

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK Photo by Matthew Bourquin

CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF PRESERVING AMERICAN BEAUTY

GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK Photo by Jason Froemming

CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF PRESERVING AMERICAN BEAUTY

BRYCE CANYON NATIONAL PARK Photo by Gary Morrison

The US Army’s Office of Energy Initiatives (OEI) is dedicated to “securing Army installations with energy that is clean, reliable, and affordable.” Working in coordination with the Defense Logis-tics Agency (DLA), OEI is working to launch a large-scale renewable energy solar and wind project at Fort Hood, Texas. Located in the sunny Gulf Coastal Plain of Texas, Fort Hood is an optimal site to test and develop renewable energy. On top of having a location surrounded by densely populated metro areas, Fort Hood has its own population of 80,000, making it the largest active duty armored post in the Army.

SUPPORTING ENERGY INITIATIVES AT FORT HOODWith so many people in this area, the need for sustainability is obvious.

As part of Continental Mapping’s IDIQ contract for surveying and mapping services with the USACE Fort Worth District, Continental Mapping provided a metes and bounds survey to establish a 130 acre lease area with adjacent easements. The lease area is on portions of four separate parcels, and the proposed distribution line (nec-essary to move the renewable energy) will run approximately 4.3 miles and cross an additional eight parcels. These parcels needed to be surveyed in order to find the true relationship of the leased area to the boundary of each parcel affected.

The project required a very rapid two week turn-around to meet aggressive engineering deadlines after receiving approval. Continental Mapping met the deadline by ensuring all paper-work, access passes, training, and other admin-istrative work was taken care of prior to the final task order signature, as well as working long hours through weekends and holidays. The project was successfully delivered on time and was met with a favorable response from USACE and its client at the Fort.

SUPPORTING A SECOND LIFE FOR EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE A retired fish hatchery in Cleveland, TN has been slotted for a second life as a water treatment facility. The 43 acre site is located in a densely wooded area, and was in need of a topographic survey to identify existing ponds and trees greater than 12 inches in diameter.

A combination of aerial lidar and field survey work was selected as the most efficient means to acquire the necessary data. Aerial lidar offered the best chance to penetrate existing vegetation to get to bare earth. Field survey was used to control the aerial lidar and to collect the location of buried waterlines running through the site. Deliverables included a digital surface model file, 1-foot contours, and print-ready drawings.

A NOTE FROM DAVE HART, PRESIDENTTHE FIRST DOLLAR

Every business has a story of its first dollar. Framed and kept alongside notable keepsakes that include child art,

a plum bob, and old photos, you will find Continental Mapping’s first ever dollar of revenue.

As Dave’s recalls, “a man named John Laub came in shortly after we opened our doors. He handed over a dollar bill and remarked that he wanted to make sure that he was our first client. He said he didn’t know how exactly, but he knew we’d be working together.” As a program director at the Sand County Foundation, a non-profit private

land conservation organization, Mr. Laub did become one of Continental Mapping’s first clients. “I keep

the dollar, not because it was the first, but because it serves as a reminder of where we came from, and it’s a reminder of how import-ant it is to have solid relationships with clients.”

NOTABLE UPCOMING EVENTS FOR CONTINENTAL MAPPING: GEOINT Symposium SAME JETC 2016 Upper Midwest Geospatial Conference (UMGEOCON 2016) Esri International User Conference TRB AFB80 Summer Meeting (acquisition, sensors & control)TRB 11th Annual Transportation Asset Management Conference MAPPS Summer Conference SAME Small Business Conference

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and information@ContinentalMapp